A sad and lonely grave that I often go out of my way to visit when I am at Rookwood is that of Maggie, the first wife of my great-grandfather. Its sad as she died so young, after giving birth to her second child, Frederick. The gravestone is in moulded concrete with lovely roses along the top of the grave. Unfortunately the wording is now quite faded but can still be made out with effort:

In Remembrance
of
Maggie
beloved wife of Henry Price
who died 19th February 1894
aged 23 years

The grave is in the Anglican section (Section BBB Grave 2344) of Rookwood, far from that of her husband and his second wife.

Ernest Albert Norman Price is the brother of Lila Davidson, and also my first cousin twice removed.

 

 

Now the connection to Sydney Davidson is rather complicated but here goes: Henry Price is my great-grandfather. His brother Albert had a daughter Lila Florence Price, born 1916. Sydney Davidson was her husband. That makes him the husband of my first-cousin twice removed. 

Henry Price and Emily Maud Price (nee Cooper)

This is the gravestone of my great-grandfather Henry Price and his wife Emily Maud Price (nee Cooper). It reads:

In Loving Memory
of
Henry Price
Died 4 Nov 1911 Aged 44 years
Peace Perfect Peace
and beloved wife of above
Emily Maud
died 13 May 1959
Aged 85 years

The grave is located in the Independent Section of the Rookwood Cemetery (Section F Grave 329).

Herbert Maudson 1879-1953

Another Cooper sister, Bertha Kate Coooper married Frank Harvey Maudson.

Although I haven't yet located her and her husband's grave I have located that of Frank's brother, Herbert and his wife Mary Lydia, as well as that of his daughter and her husband, Alice Elizabeth and Norman Handcock.

The transcription reads:

In loving memory of My Dear Husband & My Father HERBERT MAUDSON died 24 July 1953 Also my dear mother MARY MAUDSON died 16 April 1966 The Lord is My Shepherd

The grave is located in the Methodist Section 1AW Grave 891 of Rookwood Cemetery.

A couple of weeks ago I made another visit to Rookwood, this time to the crematorium. I was able to locate the Memorial Plaque for Lilian Blanch Bond, who was the daughter and Matthew and Sarah Ann Cooper. She was the youngest child and married Walter Bond in 1908. 

Victoria decorates the graves at Rookwood

My beautiful Research Assistant, Victoria. As you can see she kept herself busy during the visit re-arranging the flowers on the various graves.

(I hope she makes a better florist than she does a hairdresser - the fringe is all her own work.)

Back to back with that of Arthur Cooper is the grave of his sister, Edith Ellen Woodhead, her husband William and daughter Hilda. The gravestone reads: In loving memory of WILLIAM WOODHEAD who passed away 3 July 1931 aged 71 years [cremated] Also EDITH ELLEN WOODHEAD wife of the above who passed away 25th July 1938 aged 79 years at rest Also Hilda Constance Woodhead daughter of William and Edith who passed away 23rd August 1974 aged 88 years The grave is located at Independent Section A grave 377, Rookwood Cemetery.

As you can see from the previous posts, the grave of Arthur Cooper and his family has unfortunately been knocked over sometime in the last sixty years since his death. The grave gets covered with leaves and debris, and on the day I visited was rather wet as it had rained the day before. The transcription is long and reads: In Loving Memory of ANNIE beloved wife of ARTHUR CHARLES COOPER who died April 16th 1896 aged 35 years Dearest loved one we have laid thee in a peaceful grave's embrace But thy memory shall be cherished Til we see thy heavenly face Also LILIAN MAY COOPER who died December 30th 1898 aged 7 months Oh! Why should we repine If Jesus thought it best To take this tender flower And place it with the blest Also Cpl A Cooper killed in action 27th May 1918 aged 27 years Also Arthur Charles Cooper beloved husband of Annie Cooper died 8th June 1941 aged 78 years The grave is located at Independant Section A grave 378, Rookwood Cemetery, Lidcombe, NSW.

This is a closeup of the grave for Matthew and Sarah Ann Cooper, along with the Memorial to their grandson, Arthur Woodhead, killed in WWI.

The gravestone reads:

In loving memory of Matthew Cooper died March 30th 1913 aged 80 years Also Sarah Ann beloved wife of the above died 24 January 1926 aged 89 years At Rest Also in loving memory of L/Cpl A Woodhead D.C.M. Killed in action 28th March 1918, aged 22 years, grandson of the above The grave is at the Independent Section A grave 376, Rookwood Cemetery.

On at recent trip to Rookwood in November 2005 I took this picture of the graves of the Cooper family. To the right is the grave of Matthew and Sarah Ann Cooper. The memorial at the bottom is to their grandson, Arthur Woodhead, who died in France during the First World War.

The grave to the left, where the gravestone has fallen down, is that of Arthur Charles Cooper (Matthew and Sarah's son), and his wife Annie, daughter Lillian, who died as a baby. At the bottom of the gravestone is a memorial to their son, Arthur Noel Cooper, who was killed in the First World War in France.

The grave to the back of Arthur Cooper's is that of Matthew Woodhead and Edith Ellen Woodhead (nee Cooper). William isn't actually buried in the grave as he was created at Rookwood and his ashes scattered. Their daughter, Hilda Constance, is buried there and an extra gravestone was added at the base of the main gravestone.

 

Edith Ellen Woodhead

Edith Ellen Cooper was Sarah's daughter. Her fiance, William Woodhead travelled with the Cooper family to Australia in 1884 and Edie and William married a year later.

Many thanks to Jenny Heinecke for providing me with this copy of a photograph of my 2nd great-grandmother, Sarah Ann Cooper (nee Laister). Sarah Ann was born at Burringham, Lincolnshire in 1836. She married Matthew Cooper at Rotherham, Yorkshire in 1858 and they immigrated to Australia with their family of eight children in 1884 aboard the ship Belgravia.